by Slavo on March 5, 2010
Cooking is much like golf – it can make you feel like a God when things go right while making you mad as a hatter when they go awry. Likewise, when you golf with people that are better than you, your game is often elevated beyond your usual play. The same applies to cooking. Cooks and chefs are a relatively transient bunch. There are several reasons for this, but the most common rationale is for the continued growth and perfection of their craft. To truly become a top caliber chef, one must work closely under the most skilled and talented chefs they can find. 
Charlie Trotter is said to have worked in well over 100 professional kitchens in his early years of cooking. Mind you this is not corporate America when job hopping is frowned upon, but rather a chef’s resume displays more who you have worked for and in what capacity instead of how long you stayed in one place. The resume will get you a conversation with the chef – your skills under fire will get you a job. Talk is cheap in the world of kitchens and having graduated from a culinary school carries relatively little weight (I refused to hire anyone out of culinary schools – even though I was a graduate myself). [click to continue…]
by Slavo on February 25, 2010
So I don’t typically care for bacon wrapped scallops and almost never order them – which is odd considering my sincere lust for both ingredients. The reason being, 99% of the time the scallops are over-cooked when wrapped in bacon. In fact, I rarely order scallops at all because I’ve found that they’re generally over-cooked in most restaurants in my opinion – with numerous exceptions of course. But really, I think this is the reason that so many people dislike the lovely bivalves. Which, in a way is good because if everybody shared my love for these little nuggets of pleasure – I’m sure we’d rape the sea floor to their demise and we are already doing enough damage there.
Take my word you can eat these things raw and they taste phenomenal. So when you’re cooking them – take it easy chief. I prepare mine and have converted many friends to eating them essentially seared around the outside and just warmed in the middle – MAX. So in this recipe to avoid the metallic – gritty scallops we’re so used to eating the key is to use the thinnest bacon you can find. If you have an old school butcher like the Italian guy at 16th Street & Bethany in phoenix – go in and have him slice it for you. Yeah, that was my plug to support your local butcher – supermarkets do not count as your local butcher by the way. [click to continue…]
by Slavo on February 10, 2010
Oh that’s right – February is upon us which means 3 things: SuperBowl, Arizona Statehood Day (commonly mistaken for st. valentine’s day) and the Phoenix Open or “The Greatest Show on Grass!” (now commonly mistaken for the Waste Management Open). Let’s look at each for their own merits.
The SuperBowl – now as you know when it comes to sports, I really could care less who’s playing. I pick my team generally based on this question – which team’s city would I rather be watching the game in some shady bar? Needless to say this year was a no-brainer – the Big Easy baby. As much fun as shoveling the foot of snow out of my driveway in Indy before getting to watch the game sounds like a swell time and all. But I’d much rather be grabbin a crawfish po-boy with extra remoulade off of St. Charles and having a car-bomb parade of my own. Regardless it’s always a good glutenous event. I went down to the Emporess’ to watch with a dozen slabs of ribs in tow. Which, we made the last minute call to just pull all the meat and make sando’s rather than dealing with 120 loose bones laying about – best decision of the day. Yeah saints win – ok I’m over the Superbowl.
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by Slavo on January 10, 2010
I get asked a lot what are my favorite cookbooks – my usual response is “Food Porn.” I thought that would get your attention. If you’re not familiar with this term, it’s not some kind of kinky sex with apple pies or anything. Food Porn is what foodies and chefs call cookbooks such as The French Laundry, Chez Paniessse, and anything Charlie Trotter has to do with. In the pages, you will find spectacular visual presentations of food at its’ pinnacle of beauty – provoking salivation and lustful hunger. I don’t read these books for their recipes – I look at this shit for the pictures like a 10 year old that found his dad’s stack of Playboys.
The problem with cookbooks is similar to that of some religious texts in my opinion – people take it literally or as some call it – the word of God. Some people read recipes, and as they attempt to replicate the beautiful dishes pictured, the stress causes them to be come wound tighter than a hummingbird’s asshole. When was the last time you were in one of those big box bookstores? There are more cookbooks than one could read in a lifetime. Do you really believe every recipe in those texts are formatted to be reproduced in your two bedroom apartment? No, no they’re not! Plus, most chefs don’t give you their exact recipe – they leave something out, “their secret ingredient.” This is why you cannot replicate the spinach dip like the one you get at Houston’s – they don’t tell you there’s mayonnaise in it. Oops, sorry boys, your secret’s out! Recipes should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. [click to continue…]
by Slavo on December 30, 2009
Like many of you, I have been questioning the leadership of our nation (no, I’m still an Obama supporter we can’t blame everything on the black guy – I’m referring more to the grey-hairs we see on the Nightly News grandstanding against him) ever more often lately. Regardless of your political affiliations you have to admit one thing; It seems as though our legislatures are working more in their own microcosm and personal/party concerns than those of their constituents. They are playing a chess game within the media in preparation for the next election cycle and the execution of personal/party vendettas rather than trying to successfully make our country a better place. [click to continue…]
Charlie Trotter is said to have worked in well over 100 professional kitchens in his early years of cooking. Mind you this is not corporate America when job hopping is frowned upon, but rather a chef’s resume displays more who you have worked for and in what capacity instead of how long you stayed in one place. The resume will get you a conversation with the chef – your skills under fire will get you a job. Talk is cheap in the world of kitchens and having graduated from a culinary school carries relatively little weight (I refused to hire anyone out of culinary schools – even though I was a graduate myself). [click to continue…]
